Wish Fulfillment
by deadlydaisy8o8
Summary: Guys, sometimes I get really lonely. I've never had a boyfriend, and sometimes I don't think I ever will. This is what I do to make myself feel better. Be prepared for emotional baggage and all the fluff.
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful winter night.

The snow was freshly fallen on the ground and whenever you approached the light of a streetlamp, the snow sparkled perfectly like so much fallen glitter. It was cold and dry enough to be like powder that moved easily around your feet and drifted gently in the breeze over the road.

Your nose was numb, but you knew from experience that to try to warm it with breath from your hands would only make it worse. You could feel ice wanting to form on your eyebrows and you blinked frequently because of cold on your eyes.

A deep breath of air filled your lungs. It was cold and crisp and you could feel it all the way down in your stomach. As bundled up as you were in your expensive new coat and your double pair of mittens, your dads old hat and a scarf your great grandmother had knit for you... As well as your best pair of snow boots and three pairs of pants underneath your snowpants… the air only felt agressivly refressing.

It was so quiet, any sound you did hear seemed to die quickly, as if growing tired and muffled from the freezing air. Houses that should have hummed, trees that should have croaked, and wind that should have whispered were all perfectly silent to your ears. The sky was clear and the moon was new. The stars shown brightly in the sky matching the snow on the ground with their vibrancy. The scene was nearly perfect with no blemeshes or interruptions.

Nearly.

As you walked along the sidewalk you came to an irregular snow drift. It was vaugly man shapped. You continued to walk towards it curiously. Maybe it was a left over Christmas decoration that had been coated with the latest snowfall. However as you got closer you became more concerned. It was a little too big to be a decoration and when you were finally within ten or so feet of the lump you were able to make out two dark shapes that hung out over the sidewalk.

Boots.

You hurried forward now. Thoughts of someone falling in the snow, freezing to death in this dangerous weather filling your mind. Still you were quiet, approaching cautiously, afraid of what you would find. You were close enough now, to see. It was definitely a man. He was not covered in the snow, but had obviously fallen into the drift hard enough to appear to have been buried; the snow that was blowing around doing enough to make him disapear further. His eyes were closed, but his face was protected by a very thick fur hat and a tightly wound pink scarf. His nose, which poked out of his winter wear as yours did, was still pink.

You leaned forward, not stepping from the packed snow of the sidewalk. It was hard to tell if he was breathing because of all of his clothes and the lack of light. You didn't see any puffs of air from his mouth, but it was hard to see your own breath, the night was so dry. Truly the man looked serene. Maybe a little too serene, your mind whispered. Not able to get the morbid thoughts out of your head, you knew you could not walk away. You pulled your scarf down from over your mouth and tried to speak loudly enough to get his attention, if he were conscious.

"Hello?"

The man shot up from the snow drift. You let out an embarissingly loud scream as you recoiled. The ground below you was slick with ice, and you slipped backwards, hard. There was a moment where you simply existed there on the ground, your heart positively thundering around your body before you were brought back to the present.

"I am being very sorry! I did not mean to scare you! You had merely startled me as well! Are you alright?" The man who had looked large while lying in the snow now towered over you as you took your place on the ground. You could see now, he wore a long tan coat that hung heavily around his calves. His fur trimmed hat sat snugly on his head, and his long pink scarf twisted around him in the cold wind.

You took stock of yourself before you hesitantly smiled. "Yeah. I'm okay." You quickly rolled onto your knees to get up, missing the nervous hand that had been offered to you. As you stood you navigated yourself off of the ice patch and closer to the man in question as not to slip again. You spoke as you shuffled over the ice, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you either. I was just worried when I saw you laying in the snow. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

As you finally looked into the man's partially exposed face, you were startled by the eyes that met yours, a vibrant amethyst. You looked away quickly before you attempted to look up to the tall man once more as he spoke.

"Oh I had not had the thought that perhaps I would look odd. I did not think anyone but me would be out walking this late at night in this weather. I had fallen earlier on the same patch of ice, and I found the snow comfortable so I decided to stay and look at the sky for a bit. I was simply relaxing." You relaxed at the explanation. Laying in the snow drifts was also something you did when you fell, usually shoveling your driveway. It was strangely comfortable, especially when it was dark and you were tired.

"Oh that makes sense. I'm sorry I bothered you then. I just had to make sure you were okay! Even if you are bundled up it can be really dangerous when its this cold and I wanted to make sure you didn't need any help." You smiled before you realized that he would not be able to see your mouth behind your scarf, so you attempted to scrunch up your eyes and push up your cheeks so that he could tell.

He smiled with his eyes as well. He caught the end of his long scarf and toyed with it in his fingers for a moment, slowly collecting it in his hand.

"As you are saying it is being very dangerous outside this time of night. Maybe we should walk together? If I am not intruding or if you do not want to walk with me I understand-"

"That would be great! I'm just headed around the block to make a loop or two. I don't know which direction you were going though. I don't want to take you too far off your path." You gestured in the direction you had previously been going but kept your posture facing the tall man to indicate that you were open to going another direction.

"Da, that is being fine. If we take circle we end up back here and I am being no further from where you found me yes?" You nodded as you both shifted to start walking down the street.

"Yeah that makes sense. Sorry, I guess I was just being stupid."

Immediatley the man shook his head, "Nyte, You are being kind. What is word… thoughtful. You are being a very kind and thoughtful person."

You could feel your face get hot and you hoped that the cold outside would be enough to disguise your embarrassment at the compliement. "I just don't want to make more trouble for you. Like we said, it can get cold and I don't want anything to happen."

You could see the man smile though his scarf now, "Da, thoughtful."

You blushed again and mumbled through your own scarf, "Thank you."

You both fell easily into silence as you attempted to calm your nerves from the flattery. The man beside you took long strides through the snow, and you were doing your best to keep up and hide how your breath had gotten a little shorter.

"Ah! I am being very rude. I have not introduced myself. My name is Ivan. Ivan Braginski. You can probably tell because of how I talk but I am from Russia."

"It's okay I hadn't thought to introduce myself either! I'm Emily Schmitt. You can probably tell by the way I talk, but I'm from right here." Ivan gave you a mock angry look for your cheek, and you barked out a laugh.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. So Russia huh? You're not a spy are you?" You smiled in anticipation of another round of wits.

Ivan almost seemed to deflate a bit, "Why is that always what people are asking me? Do Americans think Russians have nothing better to do than spy on them? Why must I always be bad person? People hear my accent and think I am villain."

You frowned and tried to make eye contact as you walked along, "Hey woah now. I was just kidding. I promise. I don't think your accent makes you sound like a villain. I think it's cool. It's a good accent for sounding like a badass." The Russian seemed to perk up for a moment, his long strides got slightly longer.

"You are thinking my speaking is cool?"

You smiled in encouragement as you struggled to keep up, "Yeah. I mean, if you have an accent that means that you know at least more than one language, most of the time. Which is always cool. And I'd always thought it would be cool to learn something like Ruissian. It would be like learning to read for the first time all over again. And imagine the History books you could re-AD!" You had been walking too fast, you were jogging a little to keep up and you tripped again, on a hidden patch of ice. You impacted so hard this time, tears sprang unbidden to your eyes from the impact alone.

"E-Emily! I am sorry! I am walking too fast without realizing. Let me help-" You waved off the hand as you arranged your legs in front of you and shifted to your knees once again.

"Just give me a second. Damn ice. Oh wow owe that one is gonna hurt. Man you must think I'm some kind of clutz now huh? Twice in the space of like, five minutes. I swear I'm fully capable of walking most of the time." You smiled now as you pushed yourself up off the ground. Ivan didn't wait this time and instead steadied you as you stood and helped to brush off your back and shoulders.

"Emily I am very sorry. I was walking too fast. I should have slowed down. Let me walk you back to your house Da? I do not want you to fall again!"

You scoffed and waved off his offered arm. "Ivan it's okay. It's not like you tripped me. I'll be fi-" You abrubtly fell into Ivan's offered arm and clutched it for dear life as your feet left you again. Ivan spoke above you.

"Da, we are turning around. Hold onto my arm yes? This way you will not fall." You said nothing, not wanting to admit that you needed the help, as Ivan led you off of the ice patch. Once you had made it off of the ice you attempted to let go, but Ivan grabbed your arm again.

"Nyte. You cannot see all of the ice on sidewalk. Still not safe." You relented and allowed the Russian to take your arm even as you continued to argue.

"What's to say that when I fall I won't take you down with me. I'm not exactly light as a feather you know."

"I am wearing ice boots. They do not slip easily in the snow. I will catch you."

"But-"

"Nyte!"

"I mi-"

"No!"

You sighed exasperatedly and rearranged your grip on his arm. Hugging it now, more comfortably.

"Fine! Let me rip your arm out of your socket when I fall, _if_ I fall. It'll be all your fault too."

Ivan said nothing but you could tell that he was smiling beneath his scarf.

You squeezed his arm lightly and retorted in a joking manner,"Oh shut up."

"But I have not said-"

"You were thinkin' it."

"Da I was thinking I have pretty girl on my arm."

Your eyes blew wide and blood immediately rushed to your face as you silently sucked in a cold breath of air. You loosed your grip on his arm and let your hands retreat back to your own body. "I'm not a pretty girl."

Ivan seemed genuinely sad as you let go of his arm. He seemed to war with himself over whether or not to wrestle your arm back around his. "Da, you are."

Having no clue what to do you continued to argue. "You don't even know if I'm pretty. You haven't even seen my whole face! Or the rest of me for that matter. You know I am very fat under all of these layers. Like I have flabs and everything."

"I still think you are pretty."

"But I'm not! I don't want you getting the wrong idea okay? I'm not an attractive person. I'm fat, my hair is thin and frizzy, and I talk too loudly most of the time. I'm not pretty okay."

"You are entitled to your opinion."

Ivan seemed more resigned now. He walked beside you at a slow pace and kept his hands to himself. His head was angled downward and his eyes watched the snow drift around your feet.

You had shoved your hands into the pockets of your coat and your head was angled much the same as his. The silence stretched on for a long minute. Neither of you knowing quite what to say. You played the conversation back over in your head. Over and over again. God you were terrible at taking compliments. What if it had just been a joke? What if he _was_ flirting with you? Would you be okay with that? You had only known him for a few minutes at most! But he had been very kind to you, helping you up and apologetic about something that wasn't even his fault. The guilt at your half of the conversation had finally eaten away enough at you to speak up.

"I'm sorry I'm a terrible person. Thank you for calling me pretty." It was silent for a moment longer before Ivan responded.

"Nyte I am sorry for making you uncomfortable, it was not my intention. I should not have said anything."

You said nothing at his own apology. It was true that the compliment had made you feel uncomfortable, but you were just so unused to hearing the words form someone outside of your family. It always put you on edge and took you off guard. You knew you had reacted poorly. So you felt bad about your reaction anyway.

You could see a patch of ice over the sidewalk coming up, you glanced up to Ivan for a moment before you gathered your wits. Softly, so that Ivan would have to strain to hear you, you asked, "Would you mind if I held onto you to get over this patch of ice?"

Ivan's face lit up and he held out his arm for you to take. Hesitantly, you gripped his arm once more, now focused on getting over the ice patch intact. You waddled like a penguin as quickly as you could over the ice so that you would not inconvience Ivan any further.

" _Snowflake,_ there is no rush. As long as you do not fall Da?"

You didn't know what the first thing he said was, but you smiled and blushed anyway. You slowed down and took the ice at a reasonable pace.

Once you had made it over the ice you loosened your grip and started to let go, thinking that maybe Ivan would not want you on his arm anymore. He instead, smiled and lightly held your arm in place with his other hand, an invitation to stay as you were. You easily resettled, happy to give your arm to him after you had behaved so badly.

"So what is your favorite color?"

Ivan looked over to you curiously before he answered, "Blue. Though I do not particularly have a favorite. If I must make a choice however, blue is what I usually pick."

You deflated a little bit, though you didn't know what you were expecting. You rarely ever found another orange. "Oh, I like orange, but not just any orange, the orange that's the color of sunsets and cantaloupe. I had my room painted that color when I was little and it was like waking up in a warm hug every day. It's my favorite."

Ivan still regarded this conversation with a little trepidation, but continued with it to humor you, "Da, that sounds like a very nice color."

There was a beat before you moved onto your next standard conversation starter question. "So do you play an instrument?"

Ivan seemed to hold an air of ammusment now, more than anything. "Da, not so much anymore, but I have played the cello on and off for a very long time." You perked up and looked over Ivan once more now.

"Cool, you are definitely tall enough for the cello. I would have said Tuba or Trombone, if you played a wind. I played the trumpet for seven years through middle and highschool, but I've been trying to learn the ukulele more recently. I always thought it would be a fun instrument to play."

Ivan chuckled almost in exasperation, "Da it sounds like fun instrument to play. Very happy. And the trumpet very loud and confident, Just like you. They suite you."

Your head immediately went towards thoughts of brushing off the compliemnts again. The urge to vehemently deny any good characteristic about yourself was very strong. You opened your mouth a millimeter before you stoped yourself. Breathing once through your nose you instead very deliberately said, "Thank you."

Caught up in your own inner battles you missed the flash of a sad frown that passed Ivan's face as he watched your reaction to his words. "You are very welcome _Snowflake."_

You noticed that Russian word again. For a moment you thought about asking what it meant, but you knew it was probably embarrassing and you really didn't want to know in the first place. So you let it go, hoping it wasn't something offensive or mean. Instead you did your best to repay Ivan's kindness in your own blunt way.

"You are a very nice person Ivan. I am glad that I've gotten to walk with you. Thank you for catching me and helping me up when I fell you really didn't have to. You still don't actually."

"Nyte, I must make sure you get home safely. You are also a very nice person. I am also glad that you stopped to see if I was okay, and also that you allowed me to walk with you. _Thank You."_

You smiled and kicked your feet in front of you a little bit. "I'm gonna go ahead and assume that that last word meant 'Thank You'."

Ivan nodded with a smile, "Da!"

You laughed now, "And 'da' means yes?"

Now Ivan blushed, "Da- I mean, yes… You are being very good at learning Russian."

You smiled a little to yourself, " Sure as long as all anyone ever asks be are 'Da' or 'Nyte' questions."

" _Will you be my Snowflake please?"_

Ivan looked at you innocently and as you looked over him with a squinty eye. Finally you slowly opened your mouth, tasting your words before you said them so that you didn't mess them up. "Lo siento, Señor, yo no hablo español."

You noticed Ivan seemed a little sad, but was more surprised than anything. He asked, "You speak Spanish?"

You shrugged, "Un poco. Mí espanol es no muy bueno."

Ivan smiled now, "I am doing the assuming of what you are saying now. You are being modest. Da?"

You laughed a little to yourself, "Si."

"Da! Si!"

Now you cracked up laughing, holding onto Ivan's arm so that you didn't lose your balance. He laughed because you were laughing. Your walking slowed so that the both of you could collapse into a fit safely.

Once you settled down you rearranged your grip on Ivan's arm to continue along. You perked up when Ivan opened his mouth. "You have a very funny laugh _."_

You beamed, this was a compliment you were used to, "Thanks! Most people think its fun. I've been told it sounds like a lot of different thigns. Dolphins, Hyenas, the Mario one up sound, fish bubbles. Me and my mom always said that we were going to put my laugh in a jar and sell it."

Ivan squeezed your hand by pressing his arm closer to his body, "I would buy all of your jars, Da, and giggle as I listened to your laugh whenever I was sad."

You smiled, not really sure what to say to such a thing. You were uncomfortable again, but unwilling to explode like you had before. Ivan was too nice to you, and you didn't really know what to do about it. You didn't want him to stop, but you also didn't want him to get any false ideas about you as a person. You settled on your old fall back of self flagriation. "It's weird you know, most people really like my laugh, but I think that if I wasn't having such a good time while I was laughing I'd probably find it really annoying."

Ivan frowned outright now and slowed his steps significantly. "Emily _,_ why do you do this always?"

You scrunched up your eyebrows, confused at Ivan's sudden seriousness, "What?"

Ivan stopped and looked at you squarely now, "I tell you a nice thing and you tell me that the nice thing is not true. Why?" Ivan hung his head now and let your hand fall from his arm, "Is it _me_ that you do not want telling you the nice thing?" Ivan's fingers now quickly found the end of his scarf.

Your own eyes blew wide and you quickly went to reassure the man who was trying his very hardest not to look over six feet tall. "No! Ivan no. It's not you, I promise! I'm just really terrible at taking compliments! I react the same way with everybody, really. I'm not lying I swear. You've just given me a lot of compliments, so you've seen me react to them terribly a lot too. It's not you at all."

Your breath stuttered a little bit as Ivan pinned you with his very unique eyes, looking so sad and concerned, "Then I am still very confused. You do not like to be told nice things by anyone?"

"No! I like to be told nice things."

"But you tell me about bad things when I try to tell you nice things?", Ivan looked to his hands and started to bunch up his scarf, "Emily please it is okay if you do not wish for me to say-"

"Ivan I swear to god its not you oaky?" You started to gesticulate as you rambled, never looking Ivan in the face as you explained yourself, "It's just, look, I like you alright? I think you are a nice person, so far anyway. You've complimented me _a lot_ , and made sure I'm getting home okay. You helped me up when I fell and you have very pretty eyes. You are a good person, so therefore you deserve for me to let you know when what you say isn't true. The nicer you are, the more I have to make sure that you do not think I'm something I'm not. I'm not exactly the most beautiful perfect thing to ever walk the earth and if you are going to say nice things and be nice to me, you need to know that before you decide you want to keep being nice."

You now looked at Ivan, but not directly in the eyes, you watched him drop the end of his scarf. He seemed to stare off into space for a moment before he nodded to himself and seemed to gather his wits. You paid very close attention when he opened his mouth. "I am a very tall person."

Ivan looked tentatively to you, but you only looked at him with a curious expression. He took another breath before he continued on, "I do not have any friends who wish to be my friends. I am told I am scary, and terrifying, even when I am not mad. Bad things seem to happen to people who are close to me and I do not know how to stop it. My knees are very knobby and bony and I do not like to wear shorts."

Ivan paused for a moment. He took a deep breath before he looked quickly to you and then back to the ground. It was like watching a cornered animal the way he twitched and his eyes flickered. His hands slowly came up to grab his neck, "I also have a very large ugly scar around my neck and that is all I wish to say."

You stood there in the cold, you could see your house a few lots down. Ivan's hands had not left his neck, instead he clutched helplessly at his long pink scarf. His eyes looked frantic and trapped.

For once in your life you were glad you hadn't shaved your face in a couple of days. You reached up to your own scarf and unraveled it away. You didn't miss the flinch from Ivan, but you continued on anyway. "I can grow a beard."

You pulled your scarf away and held it bunched up under your arm, "See? I haven't shaved in about three days because I haven't needed to leave the house, but if you pay attention you can see the hair."

Ivan only looked at you blankly which caused you to become less confidant in yourself. Maybe he really would think you were ugly now. Maybe your attempt to share the thing you were most selfconcious about was going to fail. You rambled on fruitlessly as you rubbed red blotches onto your neck and under your chin, "It's not a full on lumberjack beard, more like a prepubescent boy trying to grow a beard. Which in a way is even worse because I couldn't even gorw it out if I wanted to and have like, wolverine sideburns or something. But it's because my body produces too much testosterone. It's why my hair is so thin," You hurridly pulled off your hat and messed up your hair, pulling it apart to demonstrate how easy it was to see your scalp. "I was even starting to bald for a while, like literally my hair was coming out in chuncks, but I finally got to a place where I could start to loose weight and that has helped a lot. It used to be worse than this believe it or not."

Still Ivan stared blankly, or at least you were having trouble determining if he was having good thoughts or bad ones. You were getting a little cold now, that you had taken off your hat and scarf, snow was starting to fall on your head and melt, makng your hair look even worse. You put your hat back on your head to keep the water from freezing in your hair. Still Ivan only stood there, and you didn't know what else to do so you just kept talking.

"I mean yeah, I could go on about my stuff, you know. But Those are the major things. And You know your things aren't so bad. I'm a tall girl, so I don't really mind that you are tall. I acutally enjoy being made to feel small every once in a while you know? And I'm not very superstitious, well, except for at work, because I will do anything to prevent a rush of customers, or mean ones in general, but I thought I was your friend, I mean we've only talked for a few minutes but I thought we were getting there. And if you don't like to wear shorts because of your knees that's fine. I've had to learn to love my arms and how to wear tank tops. And if you've got a scar around your neck that's okay too, you know. It's not like you wanted it there if you don't like it. And I don't know what happened but I'm not going to judge you for it exactly because I don't know, you know? But I don't know why people are afraid of you because you are honselty one fo the nicest people I've ever met. I get called intimidating too a lot of the time and I think a lot of it just has to do with size and stuff you know? Plus I don't know about you but I can come on really intense-"

You reacted more out of reflex than anything as Ivan wrapped his arms around you. You opened your own arms quickly enough to catch him, though he pretty thoroughly wrapped around you. You just kind of stood there, not quite knowing what to do. It was weird and you didn't know when to let go. Hugs lasting longer than about two seconds with strangers were very uncomfortable.

And then you felt his breath hitch … and you relaxed as you understood. You moved closer and tightened your arms around his massive back, "Hey it's okay man." You lightly patted his back and rubbed your hand up and down soothingly. "I think maybe we both need to work on the compliments thing huh?" You both remained motionless for another moment before Ivan pulled away and you obligingly did as well.

Ivan's eyes were a little red, but you decided not to say anything about it. You knew that guys generally appreciated it more if you didn't acknowledge that they were having emotions. You smiled and gave your full attention when Ivan opened his mouth to speak. "I think I have decided I would like to keep saying and doing the nice things, Emily. I would be very honored if you would allow me to do so."

You now blushed furiously, you stammered not knowing exactly what to say or do. "O-f course. I would like to keep being nice to you too Ivan. My house is just a few more down. You can come in and warm up before you go home? I have hot chocolate mix that my mom makes herself, its really good. Do you need me to drive you? I don't know how far away your house is…"

Ivan smiled as he easily held out his arm for you as you both started to move towards your house. He looked to the house you had indicated curiously. "Nyte,I am only a block or two away. I can walk home within a few minutes. Really there is no need to do anything for me. I will be fine."

You looked at Ivan for a moment, you saw his red cheeks and his large nose which was probably completely numb. "Yup nope. You're coming in for hot chocolate whether you like it or not. Then I'm probably going to drive you home. Sucks to be you."

You had made it to the end of your driveway and you had shifted from being led by Ivan, to dragging him up the walkway. Ivan seemed flustered now, "Please _Snowflake_ , I really do not-"

"Listen, if you don't want me to ask what that Russian word is that you keep calling me, You are going to come inside and let me feed you hot chocolate. It's going to happen wether you like it or not. So stop fighting me and let me do something nice for you."

Ivan didn't say anything more but he stopped dragging his feet and followed you up to your front door. You made it up to the porch and you hesitated letting go of Ivan's arm to reach into your pocket for your keys. You looked him up and down before you muttered 'stay', and reached into your pocket. You easily found the right key and opened the door. The inside of your house was dark, but you made Ivan go in first. "Tap your feet off in the threshold would you? The linoleum gets really slippery if its wet."

Ivan obliged before he moved into the house. You quickly followed behind him and flipped on the lights, stomping the snow off of your feet before you stepped inside. As you worked on disassembling yourself you also worked on properly inviting Ivan into your house.

"So this is it. I know it's a little messy, but I wasn't expecting anyone. You can take your coat off and sit wherever. Make yourself comfortable. The remote to the tv should be on the coffee table. I don't know if there's anything good on, but you can turn it on if you like. Also, there's a PS4. All I've got to play with it though, is Batman Arkham Knight. So if you like that game, you're in luck. If not there's still the TV."

You had taken off all of your winter wear, hanging up your snowpants by the suspenders on the hook by the door to dry, over the heating vent. You threw your mittens and hat in a pile on the floor in the same spot to dry. You looked over to Ivan and saw that he had only taken off his hat and was holding it in his hands in front of his chest protectively. He was looking shly between you and the door, completely unsure of what to do with himself. You smiled and gave him some encouragement as you gently tugged the hat from his hands.

"Here, that is a nice hat, what kind of fur is it? We can put it on the kitchen table with your other things. If you take off your boots you can sit on the couch. And if my house is too cold you can keep your coat on and I'll go turn up the heat, I've also got lots of blankets-"

Ivan finally stuttered to life as he moved to take off his boots, they were the expensive kind that tied with laces, "N-nyte. It is fine please. I do not want to being the trouble."

You waved off his concerns as you patiently waited for him to give you his other apparel. He handed you his leather gloves which you carefully arranged in a pair over your arm, "It's not a big deal at all. I just want to make sure you are warm enough. It's the entire point of you coming in here. Do you need some extra blankets? I have a couple on the couch but I have more in my room."

Ivan shook his head, his platinum blonde, nearly white hair falling over his forehead in a sweaty mess. "Ny-no. Truly I am fine." He handed you, finally, his long trench coat, which you were careful not to let drag on the ground. Instead of moving into the house he stood patentily waiting for more instruction. You also waited for him to finish taking off his stuff. He was still wearing his scarf over his sweater. There was a moment where neither of you moved. You quirked your eyebrow, "Are you gonna leave your scarf on or?..."

Ivan blushed furiously, he looked to you then the floor. In a flash you remembered why Ivan might want to keep his scarf on. "Wait no! It's fine! I forgot! Forget I said anything. I'm sorry. You can keep it on, wear whatever you want. Here, come'on you can sit on the couch and I will get the hot chocolate started." You shifted around the entry way, all of his things in your hand, intending to sheapard him to the living room. He awkwardly stepped onto the carpet and moved into the house. You moved quickly around him, clearing a space on the couch.

"You can sit right here. Okay?" You gave him a pointed look as you moved away, he obligingly sat down, his legs folding up like tent poles on your short couch. "And I'm gonna put all of your stuff on the kitchen table okay? I really do like your hat, is it real fur? I have a pair of rabbit fur ear muffs that my great grampa gave me. They are the softest things."

Ivan craned his neck around to watch you place his things on the kitchen table with immense care. He smiled at the little pet you had given his hat. He responded as he watched you dash over into the kitchen and start fishing though the cupboards, "Da. It is real. It is made out of rabbit."

"That's cool. I like the hats with the ear flaps. I have a hat that looks like yours with the ear flaps and all of that that my dad left when he moved away. It's not as fancy but I like it because I can wear it when I miss him. I don't know what to call it though, it's not eaxactly a ski cap… so I just call it my lumberjack hat."

Ivan watched you pull out an enourmous container that had the word Nesquick crossed out on the side. You had previously gotten milk out of the refriderator and measured it out in a glass measuring cup before you put in in the microwave. Absently Ivan commented, "Unshanka, In Russia is what we call the hats. The hat comes from Russia Da?" You perked up from your lean against the counter as you waited for the milk to be done heating up.

"What was the word? Say it a little slower."

Ivan smiled, "Unshanka."

You immediately responded, "Unshaka."

Still smiling Ivan repeated the word again, "UnshaNka"

"Unshanka."

Ivan smiled and nodded. "Da that is good."

You nodded your head seriously and said the word a couple more times to yourself as you glanced at the microwave to see how much time was left. You moved to the cupboard to get out your two biggest mugs. Ivan had shifted sideways now, on the couch, to watch you. A small smile was ever present on his lips.

As you poured the mix into the mugs to get them ready for when the milk decided it was going to be done in the next two minutes and twenty seven seconds, you called over your shoulder to Ivan, "You are more than welcome to turn on the TV. I know I'm not exactly the best entertainment. Are you hungry? I don't have a lot of food, but you could have like an apple or something. I think I still have some ramen in the cupboard."

Ivan immediately shook his head, " _Snowflake_ please, I do not need anything else. You are doing more than enough already."

You turned around now, "Are you sure?"

Ivan nodded firmly, "Da."

You gave him a stern look, "Positive?"

Ivan nodded again, "Yes."

"Are you absopositivilutely sure?"

Ivan stared for a moment in confusion, "If that means that I am sure I do not need anything more, then yes."

You had to giggle for a moment at his confusion before you let yourself be convinced that he was finding your house and your service hospitable.

Finally the microwave beeped and you grabbed a hot pad, to hold the glass handle, before you poured the milk into the mugs, stirring them carefully to get all of the mix dissolved. You did Ivan's first and wipped any drips off of the side before you brought it to him with a hot pad on the bottom and a spoon.

"Here you go, be careful it's hot. Try it with the spoon first and if you don't want it anymore just leave it on the endtable. You don't have to drink it all if you don't want it, but I think you'll like it."

Ivan watched you, a blush on his face as you concentrated on not spilling the drink as you walked towards him. He carefully took the very full mug from your hands and then brought it to his chest. You relaxed when you felt the weight of the mug leave your hands, before you went back to get your own mug and repeat the process of carefully walking it over to the couch. You set it down on the table at your end of the couch before you sat down, tucking your feet underneath you, and picked it back up.

" _Thank you._ Emily."

You were blowing on your own hot chocolate. The 'o' of your lips turned into a smile. "It's no problem, but you haven't even tried it yet! Come on. I tried not to make it too hot so that we didn't have to wait for it to cool. It should be okay."

Ivan looked from you to his cup before he stirred it a bit and then went to carefully bring the hot liquid to his lips. He took a tentative sip to see just how hot the chocolate was before he let himself get a real taste. "It's very good da?"

Now that you were sitting down and had a hot drink in your hands, you could feel your eyes getting heavy. You forced a yawn to stay at the back of your throat, makng your eyes water ever so slightly. You smiled again at Ivan and rearranged your legs a little bit. "Good. I'm glad." You brought your own hot chocolate back up to your lips to take another drink.

Ivan watched your eyes fluttler with sleep from over his mug. He couldn't help but think you had the prettiest blue eyes. So nice and full of kindness as your dark lashes fluttered on your cheeks. He observed the tight little ringlets that framed your face like a halo. He noticed the freckles on your cheeks and forehead, along with the blush from the cold that was still present as you relaxed into the couch and drank a mug of hot chocolate.

He smiled a bittersweet smile as he watched your attempt to pretend that you weren't tired as you crammed yourself into the familiar cushions of the couch. Ivan took one last drink from his mug before he stood up.

"I will put my mug in the sink and walk home da? You are tired _Snowflake._ Please, I do not want to trouble you."

You frowned and a little of the tiredness that had been settling over you, left at Ivan's statement. You took one last long gulp of your own hot chocolate before you too, stood up off of the couch and followed Ivan to the kitchen. You didn't catch him before he could rinse out his mug and put it in the sink, but you were close. You rinsed out your own mug and followed Ivan as he walked over to his things on the kitchen table. "Ivan for real it's no big deal. I said I was going to drive you home so I will. It's really fucking cold outside. It's fun and okay for about as long as we were out there, but not much longer. Besides, it's not as fun to be out when you don't have anyone to walk with. Does ridding in my car make you uncomfortable? It's okay I mean you've already been in my house, I promise my car isn't that different."

Ivan merely shook his head as he put on his coat. "You are very stubborn yes?"

You shrugged your own coat on. "I dunno It depends, I just like to follow through on things I say I'm going to do. I don't often say things I don't really mean. I sinsierly offered you a ride and would be happy to give you one. But if you are really uncomfortable with me driving you then that's okay too. I just want to make sure you are safe."

You had positioned yourself in the entryway, now with a coat and boots on, in such a way that ivan would have a hard time getting around you. Ivan had seemed to hunch at your words and blush. "I suppose it is only fair that you get to know where I live as well da?"

You smiled but internally your heart skipped a beat. The thought had not even crossed your mind that Ivan might take advantage of the fact that he knew where you lived. It hit you then, for the first time that night, that Ivan was in fact a strange man you had met on the street, whose only redeeming quality was that he was nice to you.

Quickly you shoved the paranoid thoughts to the back of your head. It was too late now. Ivan was a nice man, who could have done a lot of things differently this evening, but he didn't. You were going to go out on a limb and continue to trust him.

Ivan frowned at the flash of panic that crossed your face. He should not have said that last thing. His sisters and 'friends' were always telling him not to say such creepy things, but they just slipped out. He held his breath as he waited for your response. For your attitude and friendliness to go away.

"Alright, I'm ready if you are." You opened the door so that Ivan could step out onto the step ahead of you. You grabbed your keys again and shut of the light as you steped onto the porch and locked the door. You had to dance a little bit to get around Ivan who was still hesitating on the porch. "Come'on now we do actually have to get in the car for me to drive you home."

Ivan hunched over and moved quickly to the passenger side of your little red Toyota Yaris.

"Now I know its small, but I promise its not that bad once you're inside. There's acutally a fair bit of space. It's very economical. But it beats walking home right?" You didn't wait for a response as you swung yourself in the little car and leaned over the seat to unlock the passenger door. You nodded to Ivan to open the door and he did so as you shoved a couple of papers in the back seat so that he would have a place to sit. As you turned on the car, got your seatbelt on, and adjusted the heat to full blast as you spoke, "Alright now I am terrible with directions so I'm gonna need a lot of notice before we make a turn, and you're going to have to give me left, right, straight, kind of directions, cool? So which way am I going?"

"Towards Harrison, I am just a few blocks Da?"

You nodded as you got out of the driveway and gave your little car some inertia to start rolling down the icy street, stopping at all the stop signs.

"Thank you for the ride Emily. You really did not have to." Ivan's legs were nearly tucked up to his chest in your little car and he fiddled with his scarf as he looked quickly to you, and then back out the window.

"Oh my gosh, its fine. I was without a car for a really long time and I know how not having one can be a pain. There were a lot of people who helped me out and I like to do my best to return the favor. I like driving and my car gets really good gas milage so it's no big deal. Right or straight?"

"Right." You were silently impressed as you made a right turn. You knew the houses over here were much more expensive, bordering on mansions with their stone fasads, and mason work. You knew generally a lot of rich kids lived here instead on in the college dorms on campus. It wasn't a bunch of sorotities or fraternites, that was a couple of streets over, these just got rented out every year to about five to eight people to a house.

"Okay you gotta tell me when alright? What am I looking for?"

"Da, my house number is 2250. There is a snowman in the front yard and a large pine tree with a star on top."

You nodded keeping an eye out for those things. "So how many roomates do you have?"

You looked over quickly when Ivan shifted in his seat and didn't imediatley respond. He clutched his scarf and you had to strain your ears when he did answer, "I do not have any roomates. I live alone."

Your eyes got wide and you glanced over quickly to the tall man. "Dang son! That's awesome! In one of these massive houses? That's gotta be really nice! How the hell did you manage that?"

Ivan was still mumbling into his scarf, "I am government ambassador for Russia, Da? I attend the university and do work at the capitol building, so they give me house, to have good place to live. It is nice, but I do not like it mostly. It gets very big, and cold, and lonely."

You frowned at the defeated tone in Ivan's voice. You noticed the sad way he avoided your side of the car with his eyes. "Hey man I know what you mean. I'm living in my own place for the first time and It can get a little lonely but you just have to keep inviting your friends over. I have a spare bed and I coherce my friends into staying over every once in a while. Usually I get sick of them really fast and it helps me feel not so lonely. Plus it's nice to cook dinner for more than one person."

You tried to offer an encouraging smile but Ivan only seemed to shrink more on himself. You noticed Ivan's house, with a very tall snowman wearing a scarf in the front yard. You silently pulled into the driveway behind a black S.U.V.

"Da but what if you have no friends?" Ivan said it so quietly you almost didn't hear it. Ivan started to move to get out of the car. You threw the car in park and turned your attention seriously to Ivan.

"What the fuck man? Why would you say something like that? What am I chopped liver? I thought we were friends? I don't do this kind of shit for just anybody you know. We've had this conversation already, you have a friend. I'm gonna be your friend. So stop with the shitty little pitty party your having. It's not cool. Honeslty it's really starting to piss me off. I'm your friend dammit. You can invite me over and come knock on my door and shit, Alright?"

Ivan looked to you, shocked more than anything. "D-Da."

You nodded, "Good. I'm going to be waiting for you to come knocking now, alright? So you better come over or I'm gonna be pissed."

Ivan looked at you with wide eyes and nodded his head, his mouth hidden in the folds of his scarf which he had arranged around him face while you were yelling. "Da."

You nodded once. "Good. Now go get a good nights rest. And stay warm okay? I'd better see you later, yeah?" You gave a smile now, hoping not to scare Ivan away completely. "And I mean it too. I'm not just saying it in the way that's all like, 'oh you should come over sometime!' No. I mean it okay? You really can come over if you want. I'm home most of the time after 8 and on Sundays. Alright?" You smiled nervously. You knew you were doing the thing where you were being a nice/mean person, but people didn't really take your offers seriously if you didn't pound it into their heads that it was okay to take advantage of the offers you were making.

To your relief Ivan smiled now too.

"Da _Snowflake,_ I will come visit."

"Good."

Ivan opened the door and slid out of the car. You both said goodbye and you made sure that he made it into his house before you drove away.


	2. Chapter 2

Ivan had not been able to stop thinking about the girl he had met on the sidewalk. She was certainly very different. She was not afraid of him, nearly at all. In fact she seem to feel the exact oppisite. She had done her very best to push him around. It was surprising to say the least, and Ivan had complied mostly because he was unused to people feeling safe and comfortable enough around him to do so.

It was, interesting. She was bossy, but only in ways that were to help him. In everything else she was very kind. That was a word he would easily use to describe his little snowflake:kind. So easily, she had opened her house to him. Without any thought to the contrary. To his snowflake it seemed that it was not such a divisive thing, but Ivan knew better. Ivan had spent his entire life being in places where he was unwelcome. He knew this gift was precious and he was not at all intent on letting it slip away.

In his country it was very important to bring things to a home you were visiting, and he doubted that his little snowflake knew that, but he put extra thought into what gift he was going to bring regardless.

He would bring a bottle of vodka, of course. Everyone could use a bottle of vodka. And whatever they sold here was terrible, honeslty. He would make sure that his little snowflake got a bottle from his personal stash. He would also bring her sunflowers. They were his favorite flower, and they were tall, and Emily had said that she liked tall things. The thought had made Ivan blush, multiple times, whenever he had thought about it. Emily was herself tall, but not abnormally so. Ivan could not help but think that if they were to hug, it would not be at all uncomfortable or awkward. She was the perfect height for his arms.

But Ivan did not know what else to bring. Truly if he were home, alcohol and something for the table were perfectly acceptable gifts to bring, but it lacked something personal. The trouble was that he really did not know enough about Emily to know what she needed, if she needed or wanted anything. But it had been two days since their little walk, and she had invited him back over to her house. Really it was approaching the point where the window of the invitation was closing. And Russia refused to let that happen.

Currently Russia was in a meeting with all of the other nation representatives. He was not paying attention, as he wrote thougths to himself on his paper. He wrote in crylic, so that no one else would be privy to them, not that anyone cared to find out regardless. Even when Ivan blatently did not pay attention he was rarely called out for it. No one wanted to confront him, except for America, and that was only ever to antagonize him.

Slowly the meeting drew to a close as America whined more about how he was hungry for a hamburger, and Italy nagged Germany about how he was hungry for more pasta. It was nearing six o'clock and everyone it seemed, was thinking about dinner. It appeared that Ivan would escape the meeting today without having to interact with anyone. A blessing and a curse.

He packed up his things and stopped by the grocery store on the way home. He picked out the least mediocre bunch of sunflowers he could find from the selection at the store before he drove the rest fo the way home.

Tonight he would go back to his _snowflakes_ house. Ivan nervously played with the scarf around his neck, picking up the end in his hands and letting it go when he needed to do something else to get ready. He took a shower and carefully combed his hair. He put on a nice shirt and pants made sure that he didn't have any wrinkles in his coat. He tore apart his kitchen looking for a vase for the sunflowers and became more nervous when he couldn't' find one. He tore his hall closet up as well, looking for a pretty ribbon to put on the vodka but could not find anything to put on this either.

Ivan was already feeling defeated and nerovous. He simultaneously encouraged and discouraged himself with the thought that she might not even be home, or would be asleep, or anything other than able to keep him company. Regardless he knew that this was something he wanted. He would explain to Emily, why the vodka did not have a proper bow and why the flowers were not in a beautiful vase and he would beg for forgiveness. But he was still going to her house, if to do nothing more than drop off his gifts and make sure that she was okay.

Finally it was eight o six and Ivan could wait no longer. He made sure that the sunflowers were covered in a plastic bag, so that they were protected from the harsh winter night, before he set out the short ways to Emily's house. He walked down the street, nervous as anything, but determined to see his little _snowflake_ again. Even the chance to be rejected was still better than never seeing his new friend again. It was all Ivan wanted. He passed someone on the sidewalk walking their dog; the person shrunk away from him, while the dog growled. Ivan sighed and turned into Emily's driveway.

Her car was there, and a light was on in the window. She was home at least. His ever present smile slipping from his face in a moment of anxiety, Ivan took long strides up to the door and knocked.

Ivan held his breath as he waited for a response. He strained his ears for anything to indicate that there was movement on the inside. His heart sped up when he heard the creak of someone approaching the door and saw a shadow in the door's window.

"Ivan! Hey! Oh my god I am sorry I was so not ready for you to come over. Come in, we'll let all the heat out."

Ivan's smile returned to his face when his little snowflake opened the door. Her hair was wet and pressed to her head. She must have just gotten out of the shower, as the water in her eyelashes was still making them dark and her eyes looked sparkling. She was in a long night gown with a doily pattern. A blush rose to his cheeks as he also realized, based on the drape of it, that she was not wearing a bra.

Ivan stepped into the house. Very embarrassed to have caught his little snowflake in such a state. He was comforted a little when he saw that her face was a little flushed as well. He hugged his gifts awkwardly in his arms as She rushed away from him, down a hallway once he was inside.

"You know the drill Ivan! You can make yourself comfortable, I'm gonna go put on some real clothes! I'll be just a second!"

Ivan blushed again and looked around the house awkwardly. The house smelled like something had been baking in the oven. Ivan peered into the kitchen from the entryway and saw a caserol pan of something on the counter. The TV was on, but at a low volume and the blankets on the couch looked to be arranged so that someone could easily wrap themselves in them. It was with interest that Ivan noted a basket of yarn by the end of the couch and a pile of some project that had been left in the chair.

The heat of the hosue now reminding him to take off his outerclothes, Ivan shifted his presents around in his arms as he stepped out of his boots and nudged them with his feet into the place they had been the last time he had visited.

"Okay I'm back! I'm really sorry about that Ivan. I should have known you could come over. Anyway come on in! Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? How was your day? Let's get your coat off. You can change the channel on the TV, I was just using it to keep me company."

Ivan blushed anew as he was fussed over. He also noticed that Emily had put on some rather flattering clothes with some generous cleavage. It was only through practice, that he managed to avoid staring as they jostled whenever she boused around to 'help'. Ivan stuttered to life as Emily attempted to cajole him into the living room like the last time he was here.

"D-Da. Hello Emily. I am sorry to have disturbed you. I would have come at a different time if I had known-"

"Oh be quiet, I told you to come after eight, right? I should have been more prepared. This one is one hundred percent on me. It wasn't even like I was going to bed anytime soon, I get out of my clothes as soon as I get home. Here, do you want me to put these things somewhere for you?"

Ivan's brain sputtered again to life as Emily's hands hovered around the gifts in Ivan's arms.

"N-nyte. I mean Da. I mean –wait, I had been bringing these for you yes?" Ivan jerkily went to take off the plastic bag he had put over the flowers and to take the vodka out from under his arm. Before Emily could respond he launched into his apologies. "I am being very sorry that I did not have vase for the sunflowers. I looked everywhere in my house and I could not find one. Also I looked for ribbon to make bow for vodka but I could find nothing for this either, but I was doing the hoping that you would not mind so much but I have brought the thigns for you so you may do whith them whatever you wish. The vodka is being special from my mother country and I thought you might like sunflowers because they are tall and you said you did not mind tall things also they are my favorite flower and I thought you might like them also." Ivan stood there awkwardly with the teams held slightly away from his person. Patiently he waited, his heart ready to jump out of his chest, to see whether she would take the flowers and the vodka or whether he had brought them for nothing and she would turn him away and think him creepy like all the others.

"Are these really for me?" Emily's voice was quiet and Ivan became anxious but hopeful at the deep flush that covered her neck. He gained a small bit of confidence at seeing her own nerves manifest.

"Da. Of course."

"Oh Ivan you really didn't have to. Thank you. Here, I have a vase for the flowers. It might be a little short but it will work for now. And we can put the vodka in the freezer. Oh my god Ivan this is so nice. These are beautiful flowers, and so big! I hope you didn't spend too much money on these. You didn't have to do this. Here, take off your coat, can I do something for you? Have you eaten? I just made a chicken and rice caserol; you are more than welcome to it. Do you want me to get you a bowl?"

Ivan watched in a daze as Emily gently took the flowers and the bottle from his hands, like they were precious artifacts, before she wisked them away to the kitchen. She opened the freezer and slid the bottle fo vodka inside before she stood on her tip-toes to reach a vase in the cupboard on top of the refriderator. Ivan watched as she looked from the flowers to the counter, deciding whether she should put the flowers down on the counter to better reach to the back of the top shelf. Clearly she didn't want to put the flowers down, but would need to, to reach the vase properly. She was tall but not quite tall enough.

Steeling himself, Ivan quickly took off his coat to place on the hook beside the entryway, and strode forward into the house, "I will get the vase, Da?" Ivan winced as Emily jumped at his voice. She quickly settled though, and moved aside as he appeared behind her.

"Would you? Thank you. I haven't cleaned the counter after cooking yet and I don't want anything to happen to the flowers if I set them down. There should be two vases up there, the square one is just a smidge taller and might be better for the sunflowers."

Ivan nodded silently and blushed as he felt her eyes on him. He reached up over the refrideragor easily and pulled out the vase with the tall square shape. He held it down for Emily to inspect, "This is the correct vase Da?"

Emily nodded now a goofy smile on her own face, "Da."

Ivan blushed furiously at the gentle ribbing as he handed her the vase. She took it easily as she moved over to the kitchen sink, which was full of a few dishes. She quickly filled the vase with water and snipped the ends off of the stems.

"There! Now I can put them in the middle of the table and I will see them every day. Thank you Ivan they are very pretty."

Ivan continued to blush and hunch over himself. He was still very unsued to anyone talking to him with such sincere thanks, or kindness and he truly didn't know much of what to do with himself in these situations. Ivan reached for the end of his scarf, "Da, you are very welcome."

Once Emily had the flowers sitting on the table properly she looked back over to Ivan standing awkwardly in the kitchen. Her eyes quickly darted to the leftovers of her dinner, "Ivan did you want something to eat? Have you had dinner already? I always make more than I can eat, because I live by myself and cutting the recipe is a hassle. I usually end up eating the same thing for a couple of meals in a row because of left overs. You are more than welcome to whatever you want, especially since you brought me flowers and vodka!"

Ivan was working on gathering a fistful of his scaf in his left hand now, "N-nyte _snowflake_ , please. You do not need to take care of me. I am perfectly fine." It was at this moment that Ivan's stomach decided to make an oh-so flattering gurgling noise. Of course, in his rush to make his way over to Emily's house, he had neglected to feed himself dinner after the conference.

Emily frowned now and moved towards Ivan back in the Kitchen. "Hey it's not a big deal. The food is already made and ready to be eaten. Please, it would make me feel better if I knew you weren't hungry. It's a chicken and rice caserol. It's not the greatest _for_ you, but its cheap to make. It's got three different kinds of Campbell's soup, rice, butter, water, and chicken in it. It's really good. You can try a little bit and if you don't like it you don't have to eat it." Emily had moved to a specific cupboard and gotten down a bowl to scoop a small amount of the rice and chicken into. She got a spoon from out of the drawer.

"Here," Emily put the bowl into Ivan's hands and moved to get a glass, "It goes really well with milk, will that be okay?"

Ivan stared, a little dumbfounded at how a bowl of food had made it into his hands despite his protests. "D-Da that is fine."

He watched as Emily nodded and got out a gallon of milk to pour into a glass before turning around, "Well have you tried it yet?"

Ivan shuffled, his free hand undecided about fidgeting or fondling the fork that had been placed in his bowl. "N-nyte."

"Oh come on, just give it a little try. Please? That way I will know if you need more before we sit down. I promise I won't mind if you don't like it."

Ivan choked out a 'da' before he went to pick up the fork at last. Quickly he shovled a good amount of it into his mouth.

"You want more?"

Ivan chewed, and looked to Emily's egar face. He knew at that moment that even if it had tasted horrible, and it didn't, he would have asked for more just to keep the happy look on her face.

"Da. Please. It is very good." Ivan smiled, as he watched the blush bloom on Emily's neck once more. She quickly took his bowl and filled it properly this time. She handed him the glass of milk and sheperdaded him over to the couch.

"Well, you know, I'm not exactly a gormet chef but its hard to mess up rice and chicken. I'm glad you like it. You can eat on the couch if you want, or at the table. I eat on the couch all the time, I don't mind."

Bowl of warm food in hand, Ivan was feeling more confidant now. His _snowflake_ was smiling. Making her smile was not proving to be as hard as he had expected.

"I would be liking to sit wherever you are _snowflake_." Ivan's smile grew as he watched the flush spread over Emily's cheeks anew.

"On the couch then. I will crochet while you finnish eating. We can turn the TV off if you like or change the channel. I just have it on so I don't get lonely."

Ivan paused, his smile slipping for just a brief moment while Emily's back was turned. There was that phrase again. Emily should not have to use something like a television to keep her from feeling lonely. She should never have to feel that way.

As Emily turned back around from throwing a blanket next to Ivan's side of the couch should he need it, Ivan's smile sprang back to his face.

"I did not know you knew how to crochet. Do you know how to knit as well?" Ivan collapsed himself easily on the couch, balancing his food on his knees and placing his glass of milk on the end table. He watched with a smile as Emily folded herself up cutely on the couch, siting with her legs crossed and tucking herself into the corner cushions.

"I can knit a square and that's about it. I've tried to learn more, but I always get frustrated. Crocheting just makes more sense to me. I guess. I'm surprised you even know what the difference is. Most people don't know that they are different and I have to explain."

Ivan nodded. "Da this is true. I only know because I also like to knit. I find it very relaxing." Ivan blushed a little at the look of surprise that crossed Emily's face. He was used to the reaction of course. The thought of him, a six foot one Russian man, knitting usually startled people. Somehow though, in front of his _snowflake_ he had more trouble not being embarrassed.

"You knit? That's really cool! Did you make your scarf?" Ivan felt a little of the color fade from his face when it seemed Emily did not think that his knowing how to knit was weird, or too girly. He gently shook his head as he continued the conversation,

"Nyte, my sister made my scarf for me when I was very small. I learned to knit from her."

"Awe that's so cool. I think it's cool that you like to knit. If you want, when you're done with dinner, I can get you a couple of my knitting needles and some yarn if you wanted to try to start something. I don't knit very often so you could keep it here and work on it off and on if you wanted." Emily reached for her own crochet project now, that had been sitting on the coffee table.

"That would be fun if you don't mind me using your things. We can unravel whatever I make if you would like so that I am not wasting yarn." Emily waved off the concern easily.

"Don't worry about it. I've gotten about like, eighty percent of my yarn for free one way or the other. You can pick what you like and pick the needles you want and go to town. I don't mind. I have a lot of yarn that needs to be used up anyway."

Ivan made to protest again, but stopped when he saw that Emily was already staring intently at the project she was working on, her hands moving back and forth. Ivan smiled as he watched the look of concentration come over her face as she worked. He took a few bites of his dinner. The casserole really was very good. He liked the rice especially. His eyes drifted to the TV where some documentary was playing quietly, an educated voice droning in the background. He frowned remembering Emily's comment about being lonely.

Why was Emily so lonely? She was very nice, and she was not at all scarry like he was. Shouldn't everyone want to be friends with Emily? So then why was she having troubles being alone?

Ivan stared off into space, it must be her friends. Maybe they were like his friends, and they were very mean in that they did not want to spend time with her. A pang of sadness and anger shot through Ivan's chest. Nyte! Not his little _snowflake_. She did not deserve friends like that. She was too nice, too pretty to have to suffer through something like that.

He seized upon the angered feeling and decided he would do something to help his little _snowflake_. Yes he would make sure that Emily was not ever lonely. Never like him.

"I can get you more chicken and rice, if you want. There's plenty left." Ivan was startled out of his thoughts as he realized his fork was clinking against he bottom of the bowl. He abrubtly stopped moving his fork around and left it in the bowl, blushing furiously.

"N-nyte. Spasibo. I am good. I do not need more." Ivan's eyes widened just a small fraction when he identified the strict look on Emily's face.

"Are you sure?"

"D-da."

"Are you sure you're sure?"

"I think so, yes."

"You think?"

"Yes… I do not need more."

"Do you _want_ more?"

Ivan hesitated now, for only a split second and it was a split second too long. Faster than Ivan could stop her Emily was standing, her arm outstretched, "Give me your bowl." Ivan was blushing now, grabbing his bowl in his lap, hesitatnt to let it go.

"Please _snowflake_ I do not want to be eating too much of your food. I understand. I do not want to be ungrateful."

"Shut up and give me your bowl so that I can get you seconds. You know what, I'm also having another bowl, because it smells really good. If you are hungry, eat, and if you're not, don't. It's as easy as that."

Ivan reluctantly handed over his bowl and Emily quickly marched away to fill it up again. It wasn't a few seconds before a bowl was beign passed over his shoulder, now full of more casserole. Ivan looked back but Emily was already headed back to the kitchen and getting a new bowl out of the cupboard.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem. Eat as much as you want okay? There's still more up here if you want more after that. And if you don't want to eat it, then you don't have to. But if you are hungry please help youself."

Ivan silently nodded but Emily was too busy getting her own food to notice. He picked up his fork again, but waited until Emily had sat abck down on the couch before he started to eat once more.

Yes his little snowflake was too nice to be left alone in this place. He would do his very best to make sure she was never lonely, and Ivan was not known for his lack of trying or failure.


	3. Chapter 3

Russia was feeling very troubled.

He had done his research, and it seemed that Emily did not even have bad friends that he could threaten into going to her house more often. He had asked Estonia to get as much information as he could on his little snowflake, everything that he could find, and report back to him. And when Estonia had tried to say that maybe Russia was being a little intrusive, Ivan merely laughed and gave Estonia a very friendly pat on the head and Estonia had dropped his concerns obviously seeing that Russia was right and that this was the best way to make sure that his little _snowflake_ was getting all the company she deserved.

Russia had spent a half an hour searching through all of the Emilys' in the area on America's facebook before he had found the right person. It seemed that Emily was a very common name, and Schmitt even more so. It put a frown on Ivan's face. Emily was too special to have to share her name with so many other women, who were undoubtably not as nice or pretty as she was. They should have different names than his snowflake. But that was a problem to be solved another day.

As much as he knew it would cause him greif from the stupid little capitalist pig America, Ivan created a profile for himself on Facebook, and sent Emily a friend request. Much to his delight Emily nearly immediately accepted and sent him a little smiley face. The little smile made the teasing he was to get from the American at the next meeting nearly worth it. The information he gained from being able to see her facebook page clinched the deal.

He spent hours poring over everything she had liked and posted, which for the amount of time she had been using the site, was not very much. It seemed that his little snowflake did not use the Facebook very much, and that fact brought him a little relief. He was uncomfortable with social media, still, in some ways. He did not understand the need to constantly update everyone about his own life. It made him feel good that Emily seemed to feel the same way.

He poured through her friends list, but found nobody there that lived in their area or who looked like they had spent time with Emily at all before this point. He moved on to the groups that she was in and here he found a little more success. It seemed that she was in a group for her work, but that was closed and Ivan could not see its contents without beign invited. She had also joined a group for her highschool marching band alumni, but there was nothing there of interst. Also she was in a group for a college Rugby club. Here she was in pictures posted to the group, and she seemed very happy. Ivan had become exicted, finally thinking he had found some of her friends, and from that point it would have been easy to track them down and convince them to visit his little _snowflake_ more, but he frowned when he realized, that this group also was not based where they lived. And that all of the pictures of his little sunflower looking so happy were over a year old.

Estonia had not been able to find much for him either. He found her media presence on other social media sights. He now could track her on Twitter, Pintrest, Tumblr, and a site called Fanfiction. In addition to these things Estonia had found and hacked her place of work and learned her work schedule. But none of this information was actionable. It seemed Emily moved through her life with no meaningful connections, besides her family, who also lived over an hour away at the least.

Ivan had been frustrated then. How was it that Emily seemed to be more alone than he was. He had thought for a moment before he supposed that it was because his little snowflake was too nice. She did not understand that sometimes in order to make friends you had to threaten them to come over first and get to know you.

But then, that was a problem he could help his little snowflake solve. He had his own friends and they could also be Emily's friends! He could tell them to be very nice and helpful and Ivan was sure that they would do as he asked. And once they had more in common that would make himself and Emily even closer, like best friends! They could talk about their mutal friends and even have a party together!

Perhaps that is what he would do. Ivan mused from his position looming over Estonia as he continued to dredge up information on his little _snowflake_ on the internet. He would have a little party. Just him the Baltics, who he was sure would not do anything rude or bad while he was there, and Emily. They could play games and have a few drinks. It would be a good way to help Emily make friends and to invite her to his house. He knew he had been over to her home twice now, it was only fair that she come over to his house. And maybe if she had too many drinks, trying to foolishly keep up with him, like many American's did, he could take care of her and keep her for the whole night.

Estonia shivered, at what he didn't know, but he knew it wasn't good. He dared not look up to the man who loomed like a monolith behind him. Ivan placed a large callosed hand on his shoulder. He knew, without looking, about the small smile and the empty eyes that occupied the Russian's face.

"You will get Latvia and Lithuania and tell them we are going to have party on Friday. Just little 'get together' da? Won't that be nice?"

Estonia kept his eyes trained on the glowing screen in front of him, his fingers halted over the keys, "Of course Mr. Russia. Right away." He flinched as the hand picked itself up and patted his head heavily.

"Good."


End file.
